Western Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame
On 20th anniversary of the 1983 football team, which went 11-3-1 on the year and was led by legendary coach Bob Waters, the 1983 Catamount football team was inducted into the WCU Athletics Hall of Fame. The Cats started the season with losses to ACC teams Clemson and Wake Forest and looked to be headed to a 0-3 start. However, WCU staged what has been described as possibly the most dramatic comeback ever by a Catamount football team at the time. Trailing East Tennessee State 16-6 with 4:31 left to play. Western started a drive on its own nine-yard line and drove 91 yards in eight plays. The drive was capped with the "Immaculate Reception II" when Eric Rasheed hauled in a 37-yard Willie Perkins pass, which had been tipped twice by ETSU defenders. Western Carolina then converted the two-point conversion to make the score 16-14 and recovered the on-side kick with 2:25 left. Six plays later Dean Biasucci kicked a 43-yard field goal with 32 seconds left to provide the final 17-16 margin. The Catamounts went on to win 11 of its next 12 games with its lone non-victory being a 17-17 tie versus Furman in Cullowhee. However, WCU avenged that tie with a 14-7 win over the Paladins in Greenville in the national semifinals. The Cats would not have faced Furman had it not been for two other amazing comebacks. Although the ETSU comeback had been labeled the most dramatic comeback in WCU history, the Cats' first-round win over Colgate at Whitmire Stadium in the 1983 NCAA I-AA playoffs was tabbed one, if not THE greatest comeback in Western Carolina's first 50 years of football. The Red Raiders led at half time 23-0 and amassed 281 yards of total offense. The second half was a dominating performance by WCU as it held Colgate to just 91 yards of total offense and four first downs en route to the 24-23 win. The following week, Western fought back from two deficits and broke up a pass in the waning moments to escape with a 28-21 win at Holy Cross. The Catamounts had their run come to an end as Southern Illinois won the NCAA I-AA championship with a 43-7 decision. The 1983 team featured 11 All-Southern Conference selections including Biasucci, Mark Buffamoyer, Melvin Dorsey, Tiger Green, Bernard Jones, Ricky Pate, Rasheed, Steve Taylor, Richard Dukes, Jeff Gilbert, and Steve Marshall. Greene and Rasheed additionally earned All-America honors that season, while several members of the team would go on to earn All-America recognition before their career ended at WCU, including Buffamoyer, Alonzo Carmichael, Louis Cooper, Steve Kornegay, and Clyde Simmons.
